After two months of it’s release, Stam1na’s Nocebo is finally in my hands. Since it was my first time ordering something from Finland i was expecting it to take quite a while to get to Brazil and i wasn’t wrong, to be more precise, it was pre-ordered on the 11th of january through the finnish website recordshopx.com and arrived a little over two months of the date it was sent. But nothing wrong with that because every single day of waiting was worth and when it was delivered i literally dribbled of excitement. Nocebo is a beauty.

Since the day of pre-ordered, i told myself i wouldn’t listen to any Stam1na song until the CD was in my hands, and so i did, apart from watching the awesome video for Valtiaan Uudet Vaateet and listening to another song on radiorock.fi, which i couldn’t figure out the name in between all those finnish words, but now i see it is called Puolikas Ihminen, already a fav.

In this album i felt that Stam1na experimented even more than usual, especially with sound effects, but still kept their distinct identity. Producer Joe Barresi certainly had a great influence in these experiments letting the band go beyond the ordinary and forcing them to be a little crazier (if that is actually possible). Also, for the first time (if i am not mistaken), Stam1na features a track in english, Nomad, a great and fast paced song with a catchy chorus and a solo that reminded me of Steve Vai. Ei Encorea is another great track that i got hooked immediately, together with Rabies (a neck breaker), Puolikas Ihminen and Valtiaan Uudet Vaateet, which, the chorus gives me goosebumps every time i listen, for some reason. I didn’t have time (courage) to translate the lyrics yet, that will take a while, so i don’t know what they are about. The CD booklet features the lyrics but also some interesting writings in english, random quotes from each member of the band and some very nice photographs…

"Why remove a tattoo? Paint yourself with colours, tones, contrasts. Offer the grey world some medicine"

Since the first listen what caught my attention the most was the playing of the bassist, Kai-Pekka Kangasmäki, dropping some fierce bass riffs and lines, filling the spaces with interesting ideas and making them very noticeable, Puolikas Ihminen as a great example. Keyboard player, Emil Lähteenmäki, also done a great job with the chickens and ambiences.

I am honestly very pleased with this album as a whole, Stam1na done an excellent job together with Barresi. Nocebo is definitely going to stay on my playlist for months. Give it a try.